Death in the Sea

My ancestor, Abu-Torab*
Was the father of earth
But he joined the water
And became part of the sea.

His last trip was to Mecca.
On return, he took a ship
To carry himself to Bushehr
But then became sick.
The sailors laid his feverish body
Toward the sky.
And for the last time
His eyes followed the star
Showing him the way home.

Then a man prayed for him,
The sailors surrendered his body to waves,
The fish of warm waters
Circled around him
And his co-traveler brought
His books back home.

In the library of my father
I’ve seen a book by his grandfather
With a black leather jacket
On “Free Will and Determinism”
And thought to myself
If he had returned from the desert
Perhaps he would have joined the earth.

Majid Naficy
July 19, 2013

*- This name literally means “the father of the earth” in Arabic.

مرگ در دريا

نياي من ابوتراب
پدرِ خاك بود
اما به آب پيوست
و پاره اي از دريا شد.

آخرين سفرش به مكه بود.
در بازگشت به كشتي نشست
تا خود را به بوشهر برساند
اما در راه، بيمار شد.
جاشوان، تن تبدارش را
رو به آسمان گذاشتند
و چشمانش براي آخرين بار
ستاره اي را دنبال كرد
كه راهِ خانه را مي نمود.

آنگاه مردي بر او نماز گذاشت
جاشوان پيكرش را
به خيزابه ها سپردند،
ماهيانِ آبهاي گرم
به گرِدَش حلقه زدند
و همراهش كتابهاي او را
به خانه بازگرداند.

من در كتابخانه ي پدرم
كتابي از پدربزرگش ديده ام
با جلد سياه چرمين
در "جبر و اختيار"
و با خود انديشيده ام:
اگر از راهِ ريگ بازگشته بود
شايد به خاك مي پيوست.

مجید نفیسی
 ۱۹ ژوئيه ۲۰۱۳